The verdict: Stylish, luxurious and blisteringly fast in AMG form, the compact GLC-Class crossover is the C-Class sedan for people who need more cargo space.
Versus the competition: The GLC-Class easily compares in size, technology, luxury and price to the BMW X3, Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Audi Q5 and a host of other premium-brand crossovers.
You don’t need me to tell you that SUVs are selling like crazy right now. You’re probably thinking of buying one yourself, and maybe you’re thinking of buying this one: the updated 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLC.
If so, you’re not alone. The GLC-Class has become Mercedes-Benz’s best-selling model in the United States, surpassing the C-Class compact sedan, and for good reason: For a few bucks more than a C-Class, you get more space and headroom, plus the same quality interior, top-notch amenities, modern multimedia system and loads of available extra-cost safety equipment. For 2020, Mercedes-Benz has updated the GLC’s styling, powertrains and some interior bits to keep its most popular model on top.
After spending some time in a standard GLC 300 and a racy AMG GLC 63, I’ve come to appreciate the idea of having one as an alternative to a standard C-Class sedan.
The Bestseller: 2020 GLC 300
The base model sold in the U.S. is the GLC 300, equipped with a 255-horsepower, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and nine-speed automatic transmission. It can have rear- or all-wheel drive and makes 14 more hp than the outgoing model, though torque is unchanged at a stout 273 pounds-feet. It’s smooth and punchy, but suffers a bit of lag on initial acceleration.
I’m not sure if it’s the transmission tuning or actual engine turbo lag, but there’s a noticeable hesitation between the movement of your right foot and the car’s acceleration response. Switching the drive mode into one of its sportier settings (Sport and Sport+ are available) doesn’t seem to help much, though it does change transmission behavior, keeping it in a lower gear. The lag doesn’t negatively impact the overall feel of the GLC 300, which is tuned more for comfort than sport anyway, but it’s noticeable when you call for quick acceleration.
Fuel economy for the base engine is decent, coming in at an EPA-estimated 22/29/24 mpg city/highway/combined for the rear-wheel-drive base model, 21/28/24 mpg with 4Matic all-wheel drive.
Comfort is more the GLC 300’s game. While it’s a bit tight inside (due to it being a compact SUV), it’s a very comfortable cabin with highly adjustable seats, decent legroom and plenty of headroom for front occupants. Storage up front is limited; there aren’t a lot of places to put your stuff except the cupholders. (Just hope you didn’t need to put a cup there.) Backseat passengers are a bit more cramped, but the space is comparable to competitors like the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Jaguar F-Pace.
What you’ll notice most about the GLC is how quiet it is: The engine itself is impressively muted; there’s absolutely no wind noise, even at highway speeds; and road noise through the tires is hushed. It’s an astonishingly serene driving experience for a compact crossover. The steering is heavily boosted, especially at lower speeds, but stable and well-controlled, especially as speeds start to climb.
The only issue I have with the GLC 300’s drive is the ride quality, which is surprisingly stiff. I blame my test vehicle’s 20-inch wheels and low-profile tires; while the wheels served to spice up the look of the GLC quite nicely, and offered plenty of grip, the short-sidewall tires definitely transmitted a lot of New Jersey’s broken pavement harshness to the cabin, where the SUV’s copious levels of sound and body insulation couldn’t quite filter out the worst of the bumps. The standard 18-inch wheels may not be quite as sexy, but if you live anywhere with changing seasons and their resulting road-surface conditions, you’ll appreciate the taller-sidewall tires’ ability to soak up bumps a lot more than the bigger wheels’ looks.
Refined Technology
The GLC’s interior updates are minor but welcome. The biggest change is the introduction of MBUX, Mercedes-Benz’s next-generation touchscreen-based multimedia system that provides a streamlined user interface and some really slick features not seen from any other automakers.
Yes, you could plug in your personal electronics and use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but if you do you’ll miss out on the navigation system’s eye-popping augmented reality turn-by-turn directional arrows. A forward-facing camera shows you the view ahead, and upon approaching a turn a magic arrow appears, floating on the screen. The only way this would be cooler is if it were projected onto the windshield itself.
The only drawback to having the MBUX system is that you can’t say the word “Mercedes” in the car without activating the Siri/Alexa-style voice concierge, interrupting your music or conversation and forcing you to grumble “Cancel!” at the car. Most annoying. When you intend to trigger the voice-control function (by saying “Hey Mercedes”), the voice controls of the new MBUX system work reasonably well. That said, accessing your personal music on your smartphone is not exactly trouble-free.
The GLC has a new steering wheel, and while that’s not usually something worthy of mention, this one includes Mercedes-Benz’s touch-sensitive five-way controllers on each spoke. They work as well here as they do in other Mercedes-Benz vehicles — which is to say, poorly. Having touch-sensitive controls on a steering wheel is a ridiculous idea; it means having to focus on avoiding touching the wheel in certain places and occasionally changing a setting or channel or switching songs when you don’t intend to. Then when you do intend to use the controls, it’s easy to scroll past the thing you’re trying to select. I’m not sure why they went from dedicated five-way rocker switches to touch-sensitive buttons, but it was definitely a step backward for user-friendliness.
The only other major development for the 2020 GLC is newly available driver-safety technology, in the form of Active Distance Assist Distronic and Active Steering Assist. These bring some of the semi-autonomous driving functions of other Mercedes-Benz models to the GLC, allowing for hands-free driving for limited periods, automatic lane-change using just the turn signal, and automatic slowing of a vehicle in cruise control when approaching a bend or junction in the road. It works as well as it does in other Mercedes-Benz vehicles: You can’t have your hands off the wheel for too long or the car yells at you and will eventually deactivate the system. It’s marketed as a steering-assist feature, not a true hands-off solution like GM’s Super Cruise or BMW’s Extended Traffic Jam Assistant, but it does indeed alleviate the burden of tedious driving along straight, boring highways or in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
The Spicy Alternative: 2020 AMG GLC 63
The maniacs over at Mercedes’ AMG division applied their touch to the GLC (as they have to seemingly everything in the Mercedes-Benz showroom these days), crafting the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63. It’s equipped with a hand-built, twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 making 469 hp and 479 pounds-feet of torque. Alternatively, you can opt for a GLC 63 S, which ups those numbers to 503 hp and 516 pounds-feet. All-wheel drive is standard, and the nine-speed automatic gets special tuning to handle all that torque. The EPA fuel economy estimate drops to 16/22/18 mpg city/highway/combined with the big engine.
Externally, the GLC 63 gets considerably different styling, with a vertical-strake grille, wider fenders and bumpers, integrated trapezoidal tailpipes, and new LED light patterns for the headlights and taillights.
The driving experience is worlds different from the lesser GLC 300, showing you just what an electronically adjustable air suspension and massive turbocharged V-8 can do. The whole package is a bit nuts for a compact SUV, but that’s kind of the point of the GLC 63. It’s never going to see a racetrack — nobody would take an SUV out for a club track-day event — but out on the street, the combination of much more aggressive, fat-fendered styling and the brawny V-8 and its instant torque is crazy fun.
The adjustability of the suspension means the big wheels on the GLC 63 afford you a more compliant ride than the big-wheel package on the lesser GLC 300 and its non-adjustable suspension. When you’re ready for something more aggressive, just punch a few buttons on the console or steering wheel and select a sportier setting, amping up all the system responses to create a more athletic driving experience.
The Weird Ones: 2020 GLC 300 Coupe and AMG 63 Coupe
Want all the high-riding style of a crossover SUV but none of its headroom or cargo utility? Well, Mercedes-Benz has the answer: a Coupe version of the GLC, meant to go head-to-head with the BMW X4. GLC Coupes feature a chopped-top look and swoopy hatchback, and they’re available in GLC 300, AMG 63 and 63 S versions. They behave exactly like the SUV version of the GLC, with the same powertrains, suspensions, and ride and handling characteristics. The biggest difference in how they feel stems from the loss of the GLC SUV’s excellent all-around visibility: The new gun-slit rear window doesn’t even have a wiper, meaning your already dramatically curtailed rear view will get even worse in the rain.
The only reason to choose a Coupe over the standard SUV is style — and that’s of questionable taste, given choosing a Coupe comes with the stigma of anyone conversant in automobiles recognizing you’ve spent a lot of money on something silly. Our advice: Stick with the already stylish SUV version. If you must have something more stylish, pop your extra cash into an AMG version, which provides both extra style and a lot more entertainment value, as well.
GLC 300, AMG GLC 63 Pricing: Luxury and Speed Never Come Cheap
Starting price for a rear-wheel-drive 2020 GLC 300 is $43,495 including destination fee. That price bumps up to $45,495 if you want 4Matic all-wheel drive, or $50,995 if you want a GLC 300 Coupe. Start adding safety features and fancy interior bits, like the stellar head-up display, and that number quickly climbs.
The as-tested price for my loaded GLC 300 4Matic came to an eye-popping $63,835. That’s not even for an AMG version, which starts at $74,745 for a GLC 63 or $85,095 for a GLC 63 S Coupe. Load up a GLC 63 S Coupe and you’ll come perilously close to the $100,000 mark. That’s a lot of money for a compact SUV.
Despite its formidable price, this is still Mercedes-Benz’ most popular model, and for good reason. The GLC 300’s combination of refinement, comfort, technology, safety, efficiency and utility is definitely a winning one. Yes, it’s expensive, but its customers don’t seem to mind, finding value in the price commensurate with the experience of owning one (or, more likely, leasing one). If you want the best GLC you can get, the GLC 63 AMG is worth the extra cost, providing a highly entertaining driving experience and an opulent, technology-packed cabin.
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- 2020 Mercedes-AMG GLC63 SUV Gets Light Exterior Updates, Modern Tech
- Hey, Mercedes! Voice-Activated Assistant Drives New MBUX System
- Research the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300
- Research the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63
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